Textile fabric of mixed fibers



Patented Mar. 29, 1938 OFFCE TEXTILE FABRIB F up. i D FRERS Herbert r m, Cumberland, Ma, assignor to Celanese Corporation of tion of Delaware No Drawing.

2 Claims. This invention relates to the manufacture of textile yarns and fabrics containing a mixture of animal fibers, and fibers or filaments made of an organic ester of cellulose, and more particu- 5 larly to such yarns and fabrics that may have both the components thereof dyed with direct cotton dyestuffs, which dyestuffs have no aflinity for textile materials made from an organic ester of cellulose.

An object of this invention is the production of a fabric, of mixed types of fibers, capable of having the components thereof dyed to a union color by direct cotton dyestuffs. Other objects of the invention will appear from the following detailed description.

Fabrics containing a mixture of fibers, filaments and/or yarns of wool with fibers, filaments and/or yarns of an organic ester of cellulose are being produced due to their pleasing drape, hand, insulating qualities and other desirable properties. Difiiculties have arisen, especially in small local dyeing establishments, in imparting to such fabrics, containing 'both animal fibers .and fibers or filaments of an organic ester of cellulose, a desired color or depth of color as most dyestuffs, having affinity for the animal fiber of the fabric, have no afiinity for the artificial fibers and filaments containing organic esters of cellulose and, therefore, the color has to be formed from at least two dyestuffs. To produce a fabric of mixed fibers that may have all its components dyed to a union shade with a single dyestuff, it is proposed, in accordance with this invention, to alter the fibers or filaments thereof that are made of an organic ester of cellulose in such a manner that they may be colored with a direct dyestuff. This has been done in the past by weighting the yarns or fabrics with a metallic salt, or saponifying the fibers or filaments of the organic ester of cellulose prior to incorporating the same with the animal fibers. This procedure often gave rise to carding and spinning difllculties. By employing this invention, however, the carding, spinning and weaving of the textile materials into a. fabric are performed prior to the altering of the organic ester of cellulose, which procedure eliminates the dimculties formerly met with. Furthermore, by employing this invention, yarns and fabrics may be formed as by the prior methods wherein the organic ester of cellulose fibers have no amnity for direct cotton dyestuffs and. then, if it is desired, the properties of the fabric may be changed, thereby eliminating any necessity of a erica, a corpora- Application July 3t), 1935, Serial No. 33,832

segregation of operations in the production of the two types of fabrics.

A further advantage produced by this invention over the prior methods of modifying the artificial filaments prior to forming them into yarns 5 is that the resulting fabric has a more lofty yet springy handy and the fabric so produced is a much better insulator than the fabric formed by the process wherein the .fibers or filaments containing an organic ester of cellulose were 10 modified prior to processing to' a fabric.

In accordance with my invention, I treat yarns or fabrics made from a mixture of animal fibers and fibers or filaments of an organic ester of cellulose with an alkaline liquid to saponify, at 15 least partially, the fibers or filaments of the organic ester of cellulose under such conditions that the animal fibers are left substantially unaffected.

This invention is applicable to the treatment of yarns containing a mixture of animal fibers and fibers or filaments of an organic ester of cellulose, or to the treatment of fabrics formedfrom such yarns. The yarns may be formed by intermixing the two types of fibers and spinning them to a yarn by any suitable method, for instance, by the cotton, worsted or woolen methods of spinning yarn. The invention is also applicable. to fabrics formed at least in part from yarns of organic esters of cellulose and yarns of animal fibers. In the latter type of fabric the yarns of animal fibermay alternate in groups of 1, 2, 3 or more with the yarns of organic esters of cellulose in either or both the warp and weft, or the warp may be formed of one type of the yarn and the weft of the other. Any other suitable manner of mixing the yarns, fibers or filaments may be employed. Although any suitable proportion of animal fibers to artificial fibers of organic esters of cellulose may be employed in the yarnsor fabric, this invention is particularly applicable to those fabrics made from yarns containing a mixture of animal fibers and artificial fibers wherein there is employed from 50% to by weight of artificial fibers. 45

Thisinvention is also applicable to the treatment of yarns made by doubling a yarn of animal fiber with a yarn of artificial fibers or filaments containing an organic ester of cellulose. The artificial material may be present in the yarns as fibers 'or as substantially continuous lengths of filaments, or as relatively long lengths of discontinuous filaments. Where substantially long lengths of discontinuous filaments or substantially continuous filaments are employed, the

Y ployed either alone or in admixture with organic esters of cellulose as the material forming the artificial fibers or filaments. The artificial fibers or filaments may contain besides the base material, an ester of cellulose, suitable effect materials, such as dyes, lakes, plasticizers, pigments, filling materials; fire retardants, etc.

When yarn or fabric containing an intimate mixture of animal fibers and fibers of organic esters of cellulose, for instance, cellulose acetate, is

treated witha saponifying agent, the presence of the two different types of fibers produces an effect causing them to react with the saponifylng agent differently than when the two fibers are given alkaline treatments separately. Thus, it is considered that the'most promising condition for treating a fabric containing only cellulose acetate, to partially saponify the same, is to treat the fabric for from 1 to 30 minutes with an 8 to 15% solution of sodium hydroxide maintained at between 0 C. to 30 C., while the condition effecting the greatest change, such as shrinking, tendering, etc., in wool by an alkaline treatment is to treat the same for from 1 to 20 minutes with a solution containing from 12 to 20% sodium hydroxide maintained at between 0 C. to 40 C. When wool alone is given such an alkaline treatment it iscaused to shrink considerably, become tender, a tendency to become brittle and also to darken or change toward a brown color, depending upon the length of treatment. Yarn or fabric, however, that contains an intimate mixture of cellulose acetate and wool fibers, may have, in accordance with my invention, the cellulose acetate component at least partially saponified without a yellowing or other serious effect upon the wool fibers by treating the yarn or fabric for from 1 to 15 minutes with a solution of from 2 to 6% sodium hydroxide maintained at 0 C. to 20 C. When employing the maximum in one condition a minimum in another is preferable i. e. when employing the maximum temperature then either the time or concentration or both should preferably be below the maximum limits set forth above. The time, concentration and temperature forming the conditions of the treatment required for treating a mixed fab'ricare not the same as those forming the conditions causing the preferred conditions for producing the greatest effect on either of the materials separately.

I have found that the most desirable conditions for treating a yarn or fabric, comprised of a mixture of wool and cellulose acetate fibers, to partially saponify the cellulose acetate without affecting the wool, is to subject the yarn or fabric to a treatment falling within the limits of a 2% caustic soda aqueous solution for 10 minutes at 10 C. and. a 6% caustic soda aqueous solution for 3 minutes at 20 C. Within this range of conditions the cellulose acetate may be partially saponified without visibly affecting the wool and under these conditions the cellulose acetate I is suificiently saponified to be permanently dyed with direct cotton dyestuffs. Fabrics treated withinthis range of conditions lends to the fabric a more springy hand with a partial opening of the yarns in such a manner as to produce a fabric having a higher insulating value. The treatment of fabric under conditions less strenuous than those specified yellows the wool and does not sufliciently change the afllnity of the cellulose acetate component for direct cotton dyestufls, while treatment under conditions more strenuous than those specified above causes a heavy shrinkage of the fabric, a tendering of the wool component and a browning of the fabric.

In place of the caustic soda solution specified in. the conditions above there may be employed sim ilar amounts of caustic potash or suitable concentrations of other alkaline materials.

If desired, the fabric may be so treated that there is a substantial shrinking of the wool without any serious saponiflcation of the cellulose acetate by treating the same with a 20% sodium hydroxide solution for from to 4 minutes at 0 C. Thus, by regulating the conditions of treatment, i. e. the concentration, time and temperature, mixed textile materials containing animal fibers and organic esters of cellulose may be altered in their affinity for dyestuffs without discoloring or shrinking same, or they may be altered by shrinking without affecting their affinity for dyestuffs.

Any suitable type of animal fiber may be employed as one of the components of the yarn or fabric, for instance, any grade of wool, camel's hair, mohair, llama, rabbit's fur and the like. Although the invention is particularly applicable to yarns and fabrics woven, knitted, netted or knotted from same, it may also be employed in the treatment of felts, mats or other materials formed from' the. mixture,of fibers and/or filaments, g

As an illustration and not as a limitation, the following example is given:

Example may be dyed to an even and deep shade with a direct cotton dyestufl. Both components of the fabric are dyed to a union shade by the dyestufi which normally has an afflnity only for the wool component.

Yarns containing mixed textile materials may be given a similar treatment to that specfied in the example by any suitable method. For instance, yarn in the hank may be immersed in the bath, or spools and bobbins of yarn may have the treating liquid forced or pulled through them in a manner similar to treating yarns on spools or bobbins with a solution of a dye.

It is to be understood that the foregoing detailed description is given merely by way of iilustration and that many variations may be made therein without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having described my invention, what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a method of manufacturing textile mate rials formed of a mixture of wool fibers and artiaiiaeca at with a direct-cotton dyestuff, the step which comprises treating the textile material for from 115 minutes at from 0 C: to 20 C. in a 2-6% solution of caustic soda, whereby the cellulose ester fibers of the textile material are at least partially saponified.

2. In a method of manufacturing textile materials formed of a mixture of wool fibers and artificial fibers containing cellulose acetate so that both components thereof may be dyed with a direct cotton dyestufi, the step which comprises treating the textile material for from 1-15 minutes at from 0 C. to 20 C. in a 2-6% solution of caustic soda, whereby the cellulose acetate fibers of the textile material are at least partially saponifled.

HERBERT PLATE. 

